elkdog
Well-Known Member
I've been holding back on this question for a while, wanting to try a few things first. They didn't work, so here it goes.
Every beer I brew that's lighter in color than a brown ale or a scottish has developed the same sort of "twang" flavor to it, but only after 6 weeks or so in bottles. This has included pale ales, cream ales, bitters, and a recent amber that I made. I've been careful about fermentation temperature and sanitation, and switched over to using extra-light DME (I do partial mash) instead of LME, thinking that might be the problem.
Each brew tasted great before bottling, and tasty after 3 weeks in the bottle, but gradually developed a slightly astringent flavor that's not necessarily unpleasant, but it's not what I want to be there. All of these beers have been brewed with rehydrated dry yeast (Nottingham, S-04, and S-05), according to Jamil's pitch rate calculator.
As for the bottles, they are cleaned with oxiclean, rinsed thoroughly, and dipped in starsan before being filled. I used to use my dishwasher, but we have to use rinse aid to get good results, and I didn't want any residual rinse aid from recent loads getting into my bottles.
So, my thinking is that it's probably my water chemistry, since stouts and porters have not shown the same signs. Without having to send a water sample in (which I'm willing to do if I need to), does anyone know what might cause light-colored beers to age into funkiness, while the darker ones keep getting better? I'd like to go all-grain very soon, but want to figure this out before I delve deeper into the process. Thanks!
Every beer I brew that's lighter in color than a brown ale or a scottish has developed the same sort of "twang" flavor to it, but only after 6 weeks or so in bottles. This has included pale ales, cream ales, bitters, and a recent amber that I made. I've been careful about fermentation temperature and sanitation, and switched over to using extra-light DME (I do partial mash) instead of LME, thinking that might be the problem.
Each brew tasted great before bottling, and tasty after 3 weeks in the bottle, but gradually developed a slightly astringent flavor that's not necessarily unpleasant, but it's not what I want to be there. All of these beers have been brewed with rehydrated dry yeast (Nottingham, S-04, and S-05), according to Jamil's pitch rate calculator.
As for the bottles, they are cleaned with oxiclean, rinsed thoroughly, and dipped in starsan before being filled. I used to use my dishwasher, but we have to use rinse aid to get good results, and I didn't want any residual rinse aid from recent loads getting into my bottles.
So, my thinking is that it's probably my water chemistry, since stouts and porters have not shown the same signs. Without having to send a water sample in (which I'm willing to do if I need to), does anyone know what might cause light-colored beers to age into funkiness, while the darker ones keep getting better? I'd like to go all-grain very soon, but want to figure this out before I delve deeper into the process. Thanks!
